Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Elevator System with Safety Device on Elevator Doors
The present invention relates to an elevator system that
comprises a plurality of hoistway doors arranged above each
other that have horizontally movable hoistway door panels,
as well as to an elevator car with a car door that has at
least one horizontally movable car door panel. Stopping
means that are arranged locationally fixed in the elevator
hoistway act in conjunction with a stopping means that is
fastened to the car door panel to limit an opening movement
of the car door panel on occurrence of certain deviations of
the stationary position of the elevator car from the
intended stopping position.
Hereinafter, "intended stopping position" is to be
understood as that position of the elevator car at which the
level of its car floor exactly matches the level of that
story in whose vicinity the elevator car is present at that
time.
From J204080191A an elevator system is known that comprises
a safety device with the above mentioned characteristics.
Present in this elevator system on the car door panel is a
coupling element that projects in the direction of the door-
side wall of the elevator hoistway that couples the car door
panel with an oppositely situated hoistway door panel when
the elevator car is sufficiently accurately present at a
hoistway door level or story level. In each case, between
vertically adjacent hoistway doors a vertically aligned
stopping plate is fastened to the door-side inside wall of
the elevator hoistway. This limits an opening movement of
the coupling element that is fastened to the hoistway door
panel, and thereby of the hoistway door panel itself, when
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the elevator car has stopped so far below the intended
stopping position that is assigned to a hoistway door that
the horizontal projections of the coupling element and of
the stopping plate mutually overlap. The purpose of the
safety device according to JP04080191A is to make the large
and costly safety aprons that are fastened below the door
sill of every hoistway door superfluous. Such safety aprons
prevent a passenger from being able to fall into the space
that is present between elevator car and door-side hoistway
wall after the passenger has opened the car door of the car
that is standing stationary below the intended stopping
position.
In the elevator system according to JP04080191A, in the case
of an elevator car that is standing too low, falling of a
passenger into the space between elevator car and hoistway
wall is indeed prevented when the elevator car has stopped
at a level that is too low. Not prevented or limited,
however, is opening of the car door and hoistway door when
the elevator car is standing too far above the intended
stopping position. In this situation, there is the danger
that a passenger who attempts to exit from the car floor
onto the hoistway floor falls through the hoistway door
opening that is present below the car door sill and into the
open elevator hoistway. Such a fall into the elevator
hoistway could indeed be prevented by a sufficiently high
safety apron that is fastened to the car door sill of the
elevator hoistway and extends at least one meter downwards
from there. However, such a safety apron requires a
correspondingly deep hoistway pit below the level of the
lowest hoistway door, which in certain constructional
situations cannot be realized, or at the least causes
substantial additional costs. In addition, the solution
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according to JP04080191A requires relatively long stopping
plates in each space between vertically adjacent hoistway
doors, the stopping plates needing to be fastened and
aligned on the door-side hoistway wall with considerable
outlay. It is also disadvantageous that in elevator systems
with different distances between the stories, the lengths of
the stopping plates must be adapted to the story distances.
In elevator systems in which over relatively large distances
- for example over several story heights - no hoistway doors
are present, a stopping plate must be installed that extends
over the entire distance.
The purpose of the invention is to propose an elevator
system with a safety device of the type described above that
does not possess the said disadvantages. In particular, an
elevator system should be created in which the safety of
passengers is assured even when the elevator car has stopped
too far above the intended stopping position. However, for
the reasons stated above, a high safety apron fastened below
the car door sill should be obviated. Furthermore, the
proposed solution should be realizable with low outlay for
material and installation, different story distances not
requiring different components of the safety device.
The purpose is fulfilled by an elevator system according to
the invention that comprises an elevator hoistway, a
plurality of hoistway doors arranged above each other, each
of which has at least one horizontally movable hoistway door
panel, and an elevator car with a car door that has at least
one horizontally movable car door panel, a vertically
extending barrier rail as stopping means being mounted on
the car door panel and in each case two locationally fixed
stopping dogs that are vertically spaced from each other
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being fastened at such a height between the door panels of
vertically adjacent hoistway doors that in each case one of
the stopping dogs limits the horizontal opening movement of
the barrier rail and thereby the car door panel when the
position of the elevator car deviates in positive or
negative vertical direction, i.e. in upward direction or in
downward direction, by a defined minimum distance from the
intended stopping position.
The advantages derived from the invention are essentially
the following:
- In case of an unforeseen halt of the elevator car outside
the intended stopping position when the elevator car is
standing too low, the elevator passengers are protected
not only from falling into the space between elevator car
and door-side hoistway wall but also from the danger of
falling onto the story floor in the vicinity of the
hoistway door sill and from there into the open elevator
hoistway. This danger is present if a passenger can open
the elevator doors after the elevator car has stopped too
far above the intended stopping position.
- A safety apron with a height of more than 150 mm that is
fastened below the car door sill can be obviated, which
enables the realization of a hoistway pit with shallow
depth.
- The safety device is realizable with little outlay for
material and installation, since only one single stopping
means, the barrier rail on the car door, with a length of
more than 1 m, is required, and the other stopping means,
the locationally fixed stopping dogs, have only short
lengths, typically less than 50 mm.
The stopping dogs are therefore easier to install, since
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it is essentially only necessary to ensure their correct
position and not their exactly vertical alignment.
¨ Even with different story distances and relatively long
hoistway sections without hoistway doors, uniform
5 locationally fixed stopping means (stopping dogs) of
uniform length can be used.
Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the
object of the invention are stated in the subclaims and
described below.
Advantages when evacuating passengers from elevator cars
that are blocked too far away from an intended stopping
position are brought by an embodiment of the invention in
which the stopping dogs are arranged offset so far from the
barrier rail in the direction of opening of the car door
panel that a limitation of the opening movement only occurs
when a car door gap of at least 30 mm is present.
By this means, in the said situation, the at least one car
door panel, and by the maintenance personnel, also the
assigned hoistway door panel, can be opened as far as a door
gap width that still assures safety so that the maintenance
personnel can inform the trapped passengers about the
procedure for the foreseen evacuation and, for example,
supply them with refreshments.
-
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the
locationally fixed stopping dogs are fastened on
locationally fixed elements of the hoistway doors, for
example on the hoistway door sills, on the door headers, or
on cladding elements. In consequence, the stopping means
need not be fastened during installation to the hoistway
wall, whose position relative to the hoistway doors and the
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car door can vary greatly. Elaborate drilling and alignment
work during installation can thereby be avoided.
Advantageously, the stopping dogs are so placed that a
hoistway door in front of which the elevator car takes up a
position, in which a stopping dog prevents the complete
opening movement of the barrier rail and of the car door
panel, can be completely opened by maintenance personnel on
condition that the elevator car is standing so far from the
intended stopping position that the cam device is no longer
engaged between the car door panel and the hoistway door
panel. Through the completely opened hoistway door, when the
elevator car is blocked, and the car door panel is blocked,
maintenance personnel have, for example, access to the car
door drive, to the car roof, or to elevator components that
are present under the elevator car. The coupling device
mentioned above is to be understood as a coupling device via
which, on occurrence of a story stop of the elevator car,
the hoistway door panel is unlocked and opened or closed
from the car door panel but whose function (engagement) is
only given within a limited zone in the area of the intended
stopping position.
With the elevator system according to the invention,
particularly major advantages with respect to manufacturing
costs and installation outlay result from all stopping dogs
having unchanged dimensions even with different story
heights and door heights.
Advantageously, the height of the locationally fixed
stopping dog is not more than 50 mm. Alignment work during
installation, as well as material costs and transport
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weight, are thereby minimized.
In the elevator system according to the invention, the
length of the barrier rail can be determined very easily.
This is always equal to the height of the hoistway door
panel less the sum of the permissible upward and downward
deviations of the actual position of the elevator car from
its intended stopping position. A barrier rail that is
designed according to this rule has the minimum length at
which the foreseen functions of the safety device are still
realizable.
To avoid major damage to the elevator system should the
elevator car execute a vertical movement as a result of a
control fault with incompletely closed car doors and collide
with one of the stopping dogs, the locationally fixed
stopping dogs are fastened in such manner, for example on
locationally fixed elements of the hoistway door, that they
can be moved vertically under the influence of a certain
vertical force.
Significant savings in installation and alignment work can
be achieved through the barrier rail and/or the stopping dog
being already installed on the car door panel or on elements
of the hoistway doors when the elevator system is delivered.
In the case of elevator systems in which over a relatively
large distance - for example several story heights - for at
last one of possibly several car doors no corresponding
hoistway door is present, in the corresponding hoistway-
door-free zones instead of a continuous stopping plate as
required in the prior art, a number of stopping dogs are to
be fastened along the door-side hoistway wall at distances
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In the case of elevator systems in which over a relatively
large distance - for example several story heights - for at
last one of possibly several car doors no corresponding
hoistway door is present, in the corresponding hoistway-door-
free zones instead of a continuous stopping plate as required
in the prior art, a number of stopping dogs are to be fastened
along the door-side hoistway wall at distances that correspond
to, at the most, the length of the barrier rail. Also by this
means, significant costs can be saved.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention resides in
an elevator system, comprising: an elevator hoistway; a
plurality of hoistway doors arranged above each other each
with a least one horizontal moveable hoistway door panel; an
elevator car with a car door that has at least one
horizontally moveable car door panel; a vertically extending
barrier rail fastened to the car door panel; and two
locationally fixed stopping dogs in areas lying in a vertical
direction between the hoistway door panels of adjacent
hoistway doors, the two locationally fixed stopping dogs being
vertically spaced from each other and arranged so that in each
case one of the stopping dogs limits a horizontal opening
movement of the barrier rail and thereby of the car door panel
when a position of the elevator car deviates in a positive or
negative vertical direction by a certain minimum distance from
an intended stopping position; wherein the stopping dogs are
placed so that the hoistway door panel can be completely
opened even though the elevator car takes up a position in
which one stopping dog limits the opening movement of the
barrier rail and of the car door panel as long as a coupling
device that is to couple the hoistway door panel with the car
door panel is no longer engaged.
In another aspect, the present invention resides in an
elevator system comprising: an elevator hoistway; a plurality
of hoistway doors attached above each other each with at least
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one horizontally moveable hoistway door panel; an elevator car
with a car door that has at least one horizontally moveable
car door panel; a vertically extending barrier rail fastened
to the car door panel; and two locationally fixed stopping
dogs in areas lying in a vertical direction between the
hoistway door panels of adjacent hoistway doors, the two
locationally fixed stopping dogs being vertically spaced from
each other and arranged so that in each case one of the
stopping dogs limits and horizontal opening movement of the
barrier rail and thereby of the car door panel when a position
of the elevator car deviates in a positive or negative
vertical direction by a certain minimum distance from an
intended stopping position; wherein the locationally fixed
stopping dogs are fastened to locationally fixed elements of
the hoistway doors and have a height that is not greater than
50 mm.
In yet a further aspect, the present invention resides in an
elevator system comprising: an elevator hoistway; a plurality
of hoistway doors arranged above each other each with at least
one horizontally moveable hoistway door panel; an elevator car
with a car door that has at least one horizontally moveable
car door panel; a vertically extending barrier rail fastened
to the car door panel; and, two locationally fixed stopping
dogs in areas lying in an adjacent hoistway doors, the two
locationally fixed stopping dogs being vertically spaced from
each other and arranged so that in each case one of the
stopping dogs limits a horizontal opening movement of the
barrier rail and thereby of the car door panel when a position
of the elevator car deviates in a positive or negative
vertical direction by a certain minimum distance from an
intended stopping position; wherein the locationally fixed
stopping dogs are fastened to locationally fixed elements of
the hoistway doors and are placed so that the hoistway door
panel can be completely opened even though the elevator car
takes up a position in which one stopping dog limits the
opening movement of the barrier rail and of the car door panel
as long as a coupling device that is to
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couple the hoistway door panel with the car door panel is no
longer engaged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described below by
reference to the attached drawings.
Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a vertical section through an
elevator system according to the known prior art. The
elevator car is shown in two positions that deviate
upwards and downwards from the intended stopping position
that is assigned to a hoistway door.
Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically a vertical section through an
elevator system according to the invention. The elevator
car is shown in two positions that deviate upwards and
downwards from an intended stopping position that is
assigned to a hoistway door.
Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section through a car door/hoistway
door arrangement of the elevator system shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 shows the fastening of a stopping dog on the hoistway
door sill of an elevator system according to the
invention.
Fig. 5 shows a horizontal section through the fastening
according to Fig. 4.
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105 comprises a car door 106 with a car door panel 107 on
which an engagement element 108 is mounted that, on opening
of the door in normal operation, couples the car door panel
107 with one of the hoistway door panels 109.1 - 109.3. In
the areas situated between the hoistway doors 103.1 - 103.3
that are arranged above each other, vertically aligned
stopping plates 110 are mounted in such manner that they
prevent, or at least limit, an opening movement of the
engagement element 108, and thereby of the car door panel
107, when the elevator car 105 is positioned too far below
the intended stopping position that is assigned to a
hoistway door 103.1 - 103.3, as is the case in the lower of
the positions of the elevator car 105 shown in Fig. 1.
According to the description of the said prior art, the
purpose of the described device is to prevent a passenger
from being able to fall into the open space that is present
between the elevator car 105 and the door-side hoistway wall
102 when the elevator car 105 is standing below an intended
stopping position that is assigned to a hoistway door and
the passenger opens the car door. The disclosed device
cannot, however, prevent a passenger, for example when
attempting to leave the elevator car 105 that is standing
relatively far above the intended stopping position assigned
to the hoistway door 103.2, from falling through the opened
car door 106 and the opened hoistway door 103.2 into the
elevator hoistway. The arrow P that is assigned to the upper
of the positions of the elevator car 105 that are shown in
Fig. 1 shows the possible path of such a fall. This risk of
falling could, in fact, be eliminated by an especially high
safety apron 117 mounted below the car door sill 116, which
would, however, be associated with the severe disadvantage
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that the hoistway pit of the elevator hoistway would have to
be executed correspondingly deep.
Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically a vertical section through the
5 door-side hoistway wall 202 of an elevator system with two
vertically adjacent hoistway doors 203.1, 203.2, and through
an elevator car 205 that is shown in two different vertical
positions. The hoistway doors 203.1, 203.2, each contain at
least one hoistway door panel 209.1, 209.2, that is guided
10 in horizontally movable manner on a hoistway door frame 213
that contains a hoistway door sill 214. The car door 206
contains at least one car door panel 207 that is guided in
horizontally movable manner on a car door frame 215 that
contains a car door sill 216. The car door panel 207 is
opened and closed by a not-shown door drive. Fastened on the
car door panel and also not shown in this view is a coupling
device 208 via which the hoistway door panel is unlocked and
opened or closed from the car door panel when the elevator
car stops at a story.
The elevator car 205 is shown in the upper part of Fig. 2 in
a stopped position that is below one of the intended
stopping positions that is assigned to the upper hoistway
door 203.1. Shown in the lower part of Fig. 2 is the
elevator car 205 in a stopped position that is above the
intended stopping position that is assigned to the lower
hoistway door 203.2. In both of the stopping positions
shown, their distance from the intended stopping position is
so great that, for the safety reasons described above, an
opening of the car door panel 207 must be limited, which in
the case of the elevator system according to the invention
is achieved with the aid of the safety device described
below.
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Fastened onto the car door panel 207, and extending
vertically over a large part of its height, is a barrier
rail 208. This projects from the hoistway-door-side surface
of the car door panel 207 so far into the gap that is
present between car door panel and hoistway door panel
209.1, 209.2 that it forms a sufficiently wide vertical
stopping surface via which a locationally fixed stopping dog
210 can block the opening movement of the car door panel
207. Two such respective locationally fixed stopping dogs
210 are arranged at a vertical distance from each other in
all areas of an elevator system according to the invention
between two respective vertically adjacent hoistway doors
203.1, 203.2. These locationally fixed stopping dogs 210 are
preferably placed in such manner that in the vertical
direction they lie as near as possible under the lower edge
of the respective upper hoistway door panel 209.1 and above
the upper edge of the respective lower hoistway door panel
209.2, so that their joint vertical projection in the
direction of opening of the car door panel lies at a defined
distance from that of the barrier rail 208. The stopping
dogs 210 project so far over the car-door-side surface of
the hoistway door panel 209.1, 209.2 that they do not reach
the hoistway-door-side surface of the car door panel 207
(see also Fig. 3). In this arrangement, the stopping dogs
210 are able to stop the barrier rail 208, and thereby also
the car door panel 207, should the elevator car 205 be so
far above or below the intended stopping position that,
after a limited opening movement of the car door panel 207,
the barrier rail 208 collides with one of the locationally
fixed stopping dogs 210. The length of the limited opening
movement is determined by the distance stated above, that is
present in the opening direction of the car door panel
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between the barrier rail 208 and the locationally fixed
stopping dogs 210. This distance is preferably selected so
that the opening path of the car door panel or panels is
only limited at a car door gap of at least 30 mm, when the
elevator car is positioned too far from the intended
stopping position.
As shown in Fig. 2, the locationally fixed stopping dogs are
preferably fastened to locationally fixed elements of the
hoistway doors 203.1, 203.2, for example to the hoistway
door sills 214, to elements of the hoistway door frame 213,
or to cladding elements 204 of the hoistway doors.
The locationally fixed stopping dogs 210 are placed outside
the space that is occupied by the hoistway door panels
209.1, 209.2 so that these can be completely opened, even
though the elevator car 205 takes up a position in front of
a hoistway door in which a stopping dog 210 limits the
opening movement of the barrier rail 208 and thereby of the
car door panel 207. Prerequisite for the complete opening of
the hoistway door panel in this situation is, however, that
as a result of a relatively large deviation of the car
position from its intended stopping position, the coupling
device 220 (see Fig. 3) that couples the car door panel with
the hoistway door panel in the area of the intended stopping
position of the elevator car is no longer engaged.
From Fig. 2 it is apparent that - different from the
stopping plates according to the said prior art - the
locationally fixed stopping dog 210 always have unchanged
dimensions even with different story heights and door
heights. The height of the stopping dog is preferably not
more than 50 mm. The outlay for material and installation is
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thereby reduced and the necessary material logistics are
correspondingly simplified.
From Fig. 2, determination of the minimum required length of
the barrier rail 210 can be very easily deduced. This is
always equal to at least the height of the hoistway door
panel 209.1, 209.2 less the sum of the permissible upward
and downward deviations of the actual position of the
elevator car from its intended stopping position. Use of
this rule for determination of the length of the barrier
rail 210 ensures that the intended functions of the safety
device are realizable with smallest possible length of the
barrier rail.
Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically a horizontal cross section
111-111 through a car door/hoistway door arrangement of the
elevator system shown in Fig. 2. Visible are the door-side
hoistway wall 202, two horizontally movable hoistway door
panels 209.1 with the hoistway door sill 214 situated below,
two car door panels 207 that correspond with the hoistway
door panels with the car door sill 216 situated below, as
well as a part of the elevator car 205. Indicated with 208
are two vertically - i.e. perpendicular to the surface of
the drawing - extending barrier rails of which each is
fastened to one of the car door panels 207. Fastened in
locationally fixed manner on the hoistway door sill 214 and
arranged offset relative to the barrier rails 208 by a
certain distance in the opening direction of the door panel
are two stopping dogs 210 through which the opening path of
the barrier rail 208 and thereby of the car door panel 207
is limited, when the elevator car is situated too far below
the intended stopping position that is assigned to the
hoistway door. The opening path that is still executable in
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this situation results in a door gap width that is still
sufficiently narrow to prevent passengers from falling into
the elevator hoistway but which nonetheless allows
communication between maintenance personnel and trapped
passengers as well as, for example, to supply the passengers
with refreshments. Also drawn diagrammatically in Fig. 3 are
two coupling devices 218 that are arranged between
respective corresponding car door panels and hoistway door
panels and mentioned in association with Fig. 2 that
transmit the door movements of the motor-driven car door
panels 207 to the hoistway door panels 209.1.
Shown in figures 4 and 5 (Section V-V) is an advantageous
embodiment of the fastening of a stopping dog 210 onto a
hoistway door sill 214 that guides a hoistway door panel
209. A block-shaped stopping dog 210 is guided in an
approximately 1 mm deep vertical groove 220 in the front
wall 214.1 of the hoistway door sill 214. The stopping dog
210 is provided with a T-shaped T-groove 221 that runs
continuously in vertical direction. Inserted in this T-
groove is a special bolt 222 with a bolt head of least
possible height that is adapted to the T-groove and whose
bolt shank is inserted through a drilled hole 223 in the
front wall 214.1 of the hoistway door sill 214. By means of
a self-locking threaded nut 224 and a leaf spring 225, the
special bolt 222 and with it the stopping dog 210 is
fastened to the hoistway door sill 214. In the shown
fastening, thanks to being guided in the horizontal
direction in the vertical groove 220, i.e. in the direction
in which the barrier rail 208 acts on it in the normal case,
the stopping deg 210 is capable of bearing a heavy load.
Under the influence of a vertical force, the stopping dog
210 can, however, be pressed out from its fastening along
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the vertical groove, the necessary vertical force depending
on the pretensioning force of the leaf spring 225. This way
of fastening the stopping dogs can be of great advantage if,
as a result of faulty functioning of the elevator control
5 when the elevator car 205 is moving vertically and the car
door panel 207 is at least partly open, the barrier rail 208
strikes against one or more of the stopping dogs 210. Thanks
to the embodiment of the stopping dog fastening that is
shown, major damage of the elevator system can be avoided.
A correspondingly adapted fastening of the stopping dog to
elements of the hoistway door 203.1, 203.2, for example to
the door header of the hoistway door frame 213 or to
cladding elements 204 of the hoistway door, is self-
evidently also realizable.
